A new university program has launched to bring churches and ministers closer together with ACU.
Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, announced the launching of the Siburt Institute of Church Ministry on the first day of Summit. The ministry is named in honor of the late Dr. Charles Siburt, a missions faculty member and administrator who died over the summer after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.
“This past year we lost one of the greatest church leaders we have ever known,” Schubert said. “Charlie Siburt was more than his titles; he was teacher, leader, encourager, mentor and scholar. He spent his life furthering the kingdom of God.”
Schubert said the Siburt Institute of Church Ministry will serve as a place for churches and church leaders to grow and recuperate. It will promote constructive and collaborative relationships between ACU and churches, providing resources and responding to needs.
“It’s not possible to replace Charlie, but we can continue his legacy,” Schubert said. “In honoring him, we ultimately honor God by continuing to promote Jesus Christ. ACU will continue to train church leaders and support churches to promote the kingdom of God.”
Schubert said he couldn’t think of a better person to lead the new ministry than Dr. Royce Money, chancellor of the university and new executive director of the ministry.
Money said the university began working on the institute in January, but a name wasn’t decided upon until a few months ago. They then decided to announce the program’s launch at the beginning of Summit.
“Dr. Schubert and I were having a conversation about church relations,” Money said. “I suggested that to raise the visibility of the importance of ACU and its connection to churches and service to them, that we create an institute for church ministry.”
Siburt played a significant role in the development of the planning process for the institute, which would help one of the fields he worked in and focused on during his career at ACU.
“Shortly after Dr. Siburt’s death, Dr. Schubert came back to me and asked me to get it started and stick with it for a year or two until someone can carry it on,” Money said. “Dr. Siburt was involved in these meetings, so he was fully aware of what we were working on. In August, Dr. Schubert and I both quickly agreed it would be a very good thing to name the institute in honor of Dr. Siburt.”
Money said the institute will focus on empowering churches of all denominations and their ministers, and is working on several different projects already.
“The institute is a large canopy under which anything to do with church relations operations,” he said. “I’m working on increasing our web presence, specializing in services unique to ACU and developing a curriculum library. These are projects that will take some time.”
For more information on the Siburt Institute of Church Ministry, go to www.acu.edu/siburt-institute.
